A tennis racquet is comprised of a frame that defines the racquet handle and racquet face, strings that are attached to the area of the frame that defines the racquet face and are woven to produce the actual face of the racquet used to hit a tennis ball, and at least one layer of a thin, flexible natural or synthetic material that is applied around the handle end of the racquet frame so that a tennis player can comfortably and securely hold onto the racquet. The outermost layer of material applied to the handle end of the tennis racquet is generally permanently affixed to the tennis racquet handle and commonly referred to as the “grip” of the racquet.
However, tennis players also use the term “grip” in reference to where a player places one or both of his or her hands onto the tennis racquet handle to hold onto the racquet for the play of tennis. How the player holds the racquet determines the angle of the racquet face and, therefore, how the strings comprising the face of the racquet contact the tennis ball during a stroke or shot. In a forehand stroke, the player holds the tennis racquet in one hand and swings the racquet with the palm of his or her hand coming toward the ball or facing his or her opponent. A backhand stroke may be defined as the forehand's opposite, meaning that the stroke is made with the back of the player's hand turned toward the opponent. However, a backhand stroke may be made with the player holding the tennis racquet in one or both of his or her hands. With a two-handed backhand, it is the back of the player's leading hand, or the hand that crosses the player's body, that comes toward the ball or faces the opponent during the stroke or shot.
There are several grips commonly used by tennis players to achieve various strokes used during the play of tennis. The Continental Forehand grip is a one-handed grip used primarily for serves, volleys, overheads, slices and defensive shots. The Western and Semi-Western Forehand grips are one-handed grips. The Semi-Western grip allows the player to hit topspin on the ball with his or her forehand which results in a more controlled and safer shot. The Eastern Backhand grip is a one-handed grip that can be used for a kick serve or to hit a one-handed backhand. Finally, the Two-Handed Backhand grip is used to hit the ball backhanded with both hands on the tennis racquet. In this grip, the right hand is placed in the Continental Forehand position and the left hand in the same position as used for the Semi-Western Forehand.
Students of tennis learn the different grips by repeating strokes to hit balls over and over again to learn how to direct the ball across the court. Such practice establishes a memory in the player's hand muscles for the feel of the racquet handle in the player's hand and in the player's brain for the speed and direction that can be put on the ball during the different shots.
Clearly, it is important for tennis players to learn proper positioning of their hand or hands for certain strokes, on the racquet handle. Players should be able to gain muscle memory for the different grips more quickly if proper hand placement is used for the first stroke of the racquet and every practice stroke subsequently taken while learning and practicing tennis shots. If a player could ensure that he or she was consistently obtaining a proper grip on the racquet when practicing individual strokes, it should also be easier for a player to improve the accuracy of their shots.
A number of training grips having ridges and/or depressions for guiding a player's hand, fingers and thumb into proper positioning have been developed for golf clubs, such as those disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 1,664,257 to McCullough, U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,921 to Parsick, U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,892 to Karp, U.S. Pat. No. 1,855,126 to Connell, U.S. Pat. No. 5,299,802 to Brouchet-Lassale, U.S. Pat. No. 5,626,527 to Eberlein, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,795 to Stafford. Training grips for teaching the hand positioning for different grips used during the play of tennis were not specifically located.
Thus, there is a need for a way to train tennis players on proper hand and finger placement to achieve various grips used in tennis. There is also need for a training grip that can be easily and removably installed over the existing grip on a tennis racquet handle, that the user can ensure is correctly positioned on the racquet handle to obtain proper hand positioning for the main tennis grips, and that is constructed of a material thin enough that the grip does not interfere with the feel of the tennis racquet handle in the player's hand so that a memory may be established in the player's hand muscles of the hand placement used for a particular grip on the racquet handle.